The inability to reposition oneself in bed is a problem for many people. Often, the problem results from some limitation that a person is experiencing with personal mobility and flexibility in general that is exacerbated by lying prone on a flat surface offering little resistance, such as a mattress. While the soft surface of a mattress is intended to provide a comfortable surface for sleeping, the fact that it sinks into itself when weight is applied to it increases the difficulty some people such as the elderly, surgical patients, stroke survivors, people with hip or back problems, nursing home patients, and people with paralysis often already have with being able to move themselves about. Matters are only made worse by the sheets and bed linens that are fitted onto or tucked tightly around a mattress. Although it is understood that a sheet is needed to protect the mattress and provide a sanitary surface for sleeping on, the sheet also creates a smooth and often slick surface that is difficult for some to push against to move when lying or sitting on the mattress. It is well-known, particularly for mattresses on standard hospital beds which can be raised at one end that patients with limited mobility often gradually slide toward the lower end of the bed.
In addition to providing little resistance and having a smooth surface, mattresses are generally not equipped with anything resembling handles that can be grasped, pushed against or pulled on by a person in the bed to move him or herself around on the mattress. Even if mattresses came with handles, conventional sheets are not designed with openings to accommodate them. While pull bars, rings and other devices providing handles may be available to patients in hospitals and nursing homes, these are large items that must be installed onto the bed frame or brought to the bed each time the patient desire to use them. They are also costly pieces of medical equipment that may not be accessible for many patients or practical for use after the patient leaves the hospital on a patient's own regular bed.
A number of assistive devices for beds and other flat surfaces have been previously developed, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,418 to Armstrong, U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,793 to Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,279 to Skaler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,523 to Lindberg, U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,929 to Crane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,974 to Rains, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,280 to O'Sullivan, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,655 to Garner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,231 to Lonardo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,053 to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,889 to Lonardo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,226 to Lonardo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,115 to Marchione, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,903 to Parker. Several of these references teach devices that may be used by others to reposition or transport a person within or from a bed. While some of the references teach fabric devices having handles, none of the references teach a device having handles comprised of fabric-encased ropes.
The present invention provides a way to put handles on a mattress, and preferably on a standard hospital bed-sized mattress that can be used not only by a person in the bed to assist with repositioning or but also to ease the transition into or out of the bed.
Furthermore, novelty moisture detectors are also well known. These include detectors with bodies in the form of frogs or other creatures.
Batteries or solar cells connected to rechargeable batteries may be used to power these detectors. It is important to know when the batteries are no longer delivering sufficient voltage to operate the detector. A detector with a dead battery gives the same signal as one indicating sufficient moisture, even when the soil is dry.
Thus, there remains a need for improvements in moisture detectors, regardless of type, that inform the user that the battery power is low.